Ax.



- P. BABCOCK.

. AX. APPLICI\TION FILED AUG-551916.-

Mtemedl Jan. M, 1919.

ATTORNEY Specification of Letters istant.

Application mcdnu ust a, me. serial No. Mateo.

l'o all whom it may concern: 4 t

Be it known that I, Pom. BABCOGK, a citiaeu of the United States of America, residing at Redwood, in the county of'Jefi'erson and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Ares, of which the following 18 a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in ares, hatchets and the like, and more partlc-ularly to improved means for securing the halve or handle to the head of the ax.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a fastening means whereby the helve may he easily secured in' osition in the eye of the ax-head and firm y held, but easily,

removed for any purpose whatsoever, and particularly in removing the stub of the handle should the latter be'broken, thus ohviatmg the usual difliculty experienced in rovingv a broken helve from an ax-head. and avoiding the ruining of the head by,

the common method of burning out the helve.

it still further object of the invention is to provide an ax with a fastenin device for the helve, which will permit oft euse of any other form of patented wedge of wood or other material in connection with the wedge Y constituting a part of. the fastening, and whichwill also be simple of constructlon, convenient of manipulation and economical to produce.

ith the above objects and others in view,

as will be apparent as the specification proes, the invention consists in the novel eomhination and'arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described,

I illustrated in the accompanying drawings an claimed.

l1 eference 18. had to the accompanying dwings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters helve being lih designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in which:

hire 1 isa sectional elevational view of an an equipped with a fastening-means of my inventioigka fragmentary portion of a hrohen away and the ax-he'ad and fastening means heing' shown in section.-

ig. 2 is a front elevation of the ax'.

3 is an enlarged fragmentary secl view of the head. a

t is a central lon 'tudinal sectional ew ol tpe part shown in-Fig. d'taken at the eye.

, against the teeth 13 e head own in'elevat on apparently Patented Ja 14,1919.

Fig. 5 is a erspective view of. a wedge I forming a part of the fastening, and I Fig. 6 is an elevation of the opposite end of vthe wed e shown in Fig. 5. I 1

In the i ustratedembodiment of the inventlon, the numeral 10 designates an axhead, but which in practice may be a hatchethead or other implement to which a helve or handle 11 is to be secured. The ax-head is provided with aneye 1 2 which tapers from the rear face of the head of the forward or front face thereof, and is provided uponits bottom wall with a serrated surface or teeth 13 extendin' continuously of the bottom wall thereof an artly on to the side walls of The helve n is provided w'th a ttpered .end 14 adapted to engage in t e eye 12 so V as to leave a space 'at the top which 1s 12 is enlarged at the front portion of the ax-head by 0 posed recesses 18,

thusproviding interior s oulders 19 adapted to be engaged by shoulders formed from opposite projections 20 at the enlarged end of the wedge 15 so as to limit the movement of the wedge in an engaged position, when the portion 14: of the halve will be forced and the helve thereby ectively secured in the eye of the axthat is the ax-head securely fastened on the halve. It will he further obvious that the recesses 18 when. on by the v mot only projections 20 of prevent the wedge position, but will 'ment'of the wedge from being driven by 1ts cgncavely arcuate prevent up and down movethe wedge so that it will accurately fit the top wall of the eye when driven into.

position and the wedge being forced home, will provide a ve secure attachment.

The teeth 13 will prevent the halve from slipping back when the wedge isdriven in position and in order tosecurely hold the wed e in osition, especially when the an hea is sol .without a halve, the back of the .wedge, that is the wall 16 and the back of the eye or what has been termed the top wall thereof in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, are provided with coacting threaded apertures 21 and 22 respectively for receiving a screw 23 This screw connects the'wedge to the head so as to secure it against the wall of the eye limited by the engagement of the shoulders 20 with the recesses 18 as above specified, and also serves to keep the wedge from falling out of sition such as would permit the release 0 the wedge and loosening of the helve from within the eye of the head. The engagement of the shoulders'QO with the receses 18 also provides means for keeping the wedge in contact with the adj acent wall of the eye in the axhead, so that thethreaded apertures are maintained in alinement to permit convenient application of the screw and also to permit its withdrawal when desired.

In the application and removal of the helve to the ax-head or vice versa, the helve is inserted in the eye of the ax-head and the wedge then inserted and forced-iilto position, thereby causing the teeth 13 to bite into the wooden helve or handle in such a manner as to prevent movement or displacement of the helve. The tighter the wedge is-forced in position, the tighter the helve is held thereby and the fastening screw 23 .is then inserted so as to lock the parts against displaceanent. in removing the helve as, for instance, when the same has become broken, instead of the usual dificulty experienced in removing a broken helve from an ax-head or burning; out the same, the screw 23 is removed and the wedge is then driven out of its position, thus permitting the helve to fall back into the larger space, thereby permitting it to be loose all around and easily removed. The wedge is driven out from the small end to the large end at which it is limited in its clamping engagement.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple and efiicient means for securin an ax helve or the like in an ax-head, but 1t is to be understood that improved fastening means may be employed with various forms of tools or implements in which the head of the tool is provided with an eye for receiving an end of a helve or handle, and that the application of the fastener in such manner is well within the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A tool head having an opening formed with one fiat end .wall and recesses 1n its side walls adjacent said end wall and adjacent one end of the opening, a wedge adapted to enter the opening and having one side fiat to engage the end wall of the opening and the other side concave to conform to the end of a handle, oppositely extended lugs on one end of the wedge to enter the recesses whereby to limit inward movement of the Wedge, and means operable to secure the wedge in place.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in. presence of .tWo witnesses.

PURL BABCOCK. Witnesses:

Mns. J. H. Bassoon, RAY Bnncocn. 

